A Dutch card sharing network has been shut down and its operator fined over €45,000 following a joint investigation by Dutch Police, VodafoneZiggo and members of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA).
The court in Groningen convicted the 40 year-old man of offences relating to the illegal distribution of services from the Ziggo cable network.
Raids carried out in March 2017 found three active card sharing servers, as well as 20 ‘fully-loaded’ Dreamboxes that were being sold via online marketplaces. It emerged that 300 ‘customers’ were being served through the network.
“This conviction is a welcome result of the positive collaboration between law enforcement, leading operators like VodafoneZiggo and members of the AAPA to bring content pirates to justice,” said Mark Mulready, Vice President – Cybersecurity Services, Irdeto and Vice President, AAPA.
“This is another step in demonstrating that piracy is a serious crime and will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with our members and partners around the globe to counter piracy in all its forms.”
Card sharing is where a control word is illegally accessed and passed between a smart card and a set-top-box (STB), allowing subscribers to watch TV content they have not legitimately paid for.
